hqjs.org

What It Is

hqjs is a static server tool for front-end development. Its core positioning is not as a traditional bundler, but as a way to serve application code files directly during development, so the project structure in the browser more closely matches the source structure. Installation is straightforward: install it globally with npm install -g @hqjs/hq, then run hq in the project root to start it.

Core Capabilities

Its main selling points are zero configuration, no bundling, and fast debugging. The page explicitly compares it with tools such as browserify, webpack, rollup, and parcel, arguing that their development servers usually depend on bundling, while hqjs improves development speed by sending only changed files. It supports frameworks including Polymer, Svelte, Vue, React, and Angular, as well as many formats such as js/jsx, mjs, ts/tsx, svelte, vue, coffee, json, scss/sass, less, html, and pug. For debugging, hqjs emphasizes name-to-code alignment, debugging hints, and accurate breakpoints.

Build, Integration, and Production Use

In addition to the development server, hqjs provides hq build, which generates build output in the dist directory and includes tree shaking plus module and nomodule versions. It can also be used as a production server for internal projects, such as admin panels and dashboards; setting NODE_ENV=production enables production mode. For integration, it offers a VSCode extension that can be run via the Go Live button. It also supports HTTP/2 by placing the certificate and key in the project root. It can additionally work with .babelrc, .postcssrc, and .posthtmlrc.

Pricing and Limitations

The main content does not provide pricing, commercial services, open-source license, or maintainer/team information, so it is difficult to assess long-term support and enterprise adoption risks. The Angular example also notes that certain capabilities, such as zones and Reflect.metadata, require manually added polyfills, indicating that “out-of-the-box” support still has limits for more complex frameworks.

Who It’s For and Access from China

hqjs is suitable for developers who care about local development speed, want to reduce configuration overhead, and need to quickly experiment with front-end projects across multiple frameworks. For large-scale production projects, enterprise SLA requirements, or scenarios heavily dependent on a mature ecosystem, it should still be evaluated carefully. Access from China is not mentioned in the main content; domain connectivity and npm installation availability need to be tested in practice. Alternatives to consider include Vite, Webpack Dev Server, and Parcel.